Lock for refrigerator doors or other closures



Oct. 13, 1953 A H, GROEGER 2,655,395

LOCK FOR REFRIGERATOR DOORS OR OTHER CLOSURES Filed June 21, 1949 5 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEY A. H. GROEGER LOCK FOR REFRIGERATOR DOORS OR OTHER CLOSURES Oct. 13, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 2l, 1949 A INVENTOR. v ALFRED H` GRoEGER BY 5 km NQ ATTORNEY 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 A. H. GROEGER Oct. 13, 1953 `LOCK FOR REFRIGERATOR DOORS OR OTHER CLOSURES Filed June 2l, 1949 INVENTOR. ALFRED H. GROEGER BY y@ ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 13, 1953 LOCK FOR REFRIGERATOR DOORS OR OTHER CLOSURES Alfred H. Groeger, New Hyde Park, N. Y., assigner to Kason Hardware Corporation, Brooklyn,

Application June 21, 1949, Serial No. 100,318

14 Claims.

This invention `relates to locks for refrigerator doors or other closures. Such locks have been known which comprise a keeper fixed to a `door jamb and a casing fixed to the door and including aspring pressed latch on the casing to engagethe keeper, and apivoted handle on `the casing to retract the latchv to permit the door to open.

It has `also been known to provide such locks with means for pivotally moving the handle from the inside of the refrigerator so that if a person enters the refrigerator he can open the lock from within to permit him to open the door. Such locks Ahave furthermore been so constructed that the handle is provided with an opening and the casing is provided with an openingregistering with the opening in the handle when the handle i-s normally in the locking position of the lock. The purpose of these registering openings is to receivea Vpadlock so 4as to permit locking the lock at the end of the day.

It has also been known that thieves sometimes enter a store which has such a refrigerator lock and force the proprietor to get into the refrigerator. Then they drop a headedpin or nail through the registering opening and make it impossible for the storekeeper toppen the door from the inside, as the headed pin or nailprevents the handle from being pivotally moved. Various means have been devised Iso-permit opening of the door 'from lthe inside `of the refrigerator, notwithstanding the fact that a pin or nail has been inserted into the registering openings, but such previous constructions necessitated difficult manipulations, Isuch as screwing of threaded members, which is not easy for one who is locked in a cold refrigerator. Sometimessuch Aa lock is on a refrigerator which 'is'quite small and does not give the person trapped therein much room to use tools for unscrewing various bolts as provided heretofore.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a highly improved and simplifled and easily manipulated `means `for retractingV the Aspri-rog pressed latch from the inside of thefrefrifgerator even if the handle is locked in place by the insertion of a pin or nail or even a padlock through the registering openings in the andinthe lock casing.

.Another obiect of this invention is to provide a look of the character described, including means to prevent retraction of the latch from the outside when the handle bolted against pivotal movement.

Yet another object of this invention is to pr!)` tures of construction, combinations of elements,

and arrangement of parts which will be exemplilied in the construction hereinafter described, and of which the scope of application will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which are shown various possible illustrative embodiments of this invention,

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal cross sectional view through a door and door jamb provided with a lock embodying the invention, and showing the handle locked against opening movement, and showing the latch engaging the keeper;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. l, but illustrating the retraction of the latch from the inside of the refrigerator Fig. 3 is a cross sectional Vview similar to Fig. 1 but showing the lock handle pulled to `retract the latch:

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the lock;

Fig. 5 is a view of the inside of the lock attached to the refrigerator door;

Fig. 6 is an elevational view of the handle at the inside of the refrigerator door, employed for opening the lock;

Fig. 'I is an enlarged cross sectional view taken on line 1-1 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged cross sectional view taken on line 8 8 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 9 is an enlarged cross sectional view taken on line 9-9 of Fig. 1.

Referring new in detail to the drawings, I0 designates a refrigerator door and II `a door jamb for said door. The door jambhas a front surface I2. The door I 0 has an outer .surface I3 and an inner surface I4. It is formed with an. edge portion I5 which overlaps the door jambl and contacts a gasket I `Ii on the door jamb. Attached to the outer surface I2 of the door jamb is a keeper I1 of any usual .construction and including a strike I 8 of usual construction.

The door IU is formed with ya horizontal through opening 20 for the purpose hereinafter appearing. Attached to the outer surface I3 of the door I0 is a lock 2| embodying the invention, and `adapted `to cooperate With` the keeper I1. The `lock 2I comprises a lock casing 22. Said casing 22 comprises a pair of spaced flanges 23 contacting the surface I3 of the door and each are formed with a plurality of apertures to receive screws 24, or other fastening members for attaching the casing to the door. Extending from the fianges 23 are a pair of side walls 25 inter-connected by an outer wall 25 from the rear end of which extends a back wall 21. The casing is open at its front end. The side walls 25 may be tapered toward each other and toward the rear, thus being closer together at the rear than at the front.

At the forward end of the casing, the side walls have upwardly and forwardly projecting ears 28 formed with inclined forward edges 29.

At the forward ends of the ears 28 are spaced tongues 30. The ears 28 are formed with aligned openings 3| carrying a transverse horizontal pivot pin 32 formed with heads 33 at the ends thereof contacting the outer surfaces of said portions 28. Extending downwardly from the outer wall 26 is a lug 34 formed with a tapered through opening 35, for the purpose hereinafter appearing.

Adjacent the rear ends of the side walls 25 are formed through openings 36 through which extends a transverse pivot pin 31 formed at the ends thereof with rivet heads 38 contacting the outer side surface of said side walls. The purpose of the pivot pin 31 will be described hereinafter.

The under surfaces of the flanges 23 are grooved and engaged within the grooves is a transverse bottom plate 40 attached to the flanges by suitable screws or other fastening means.

The outer wall 26 terminates as at 43 rearwardly of the portion 28 of said side walls 25. However, extending from the top wall 26 and beyond the forward edge 43 are a pair of spaced upwardly extending ears 45 and 46, separated by a slot 41. Between the ear 45 and the adjacent side wall 25 is a slot 48 formed in the inner face of the adjoining wall 25. Between the ear 45 and the adjacent side wall 25 is a similar slot 49.

'Ihe ears 45 and 46 are formed with aligne-d openings 45a and 45a, respectively. Said ears are located outside the outer wall 26 so as to be exposed thereabove.

Pivoted to the transverse pinY 32 is a latch member 50. Said latch member I) is disposed between portions 28 of the lock casing. It has at its outer end a forwardly extending tapering tongue 5|. It is formed with a through opening 52 through which the pivot pin 32 passes. Extending -inwardly and rearwardly from the tongue 5I is a portion 53 formed at its rear surface with a notch 54. Traversing said notch is a horizontal pivot pin 55, the ends whereof are received in openings in the latch at opposite sides of the notch. Extending forwardly of the inner end of the latch are a pair of spaced apertured ears 51 carrying a transverse pivot pin 58 on which is mounted a roller 59.

When the latch is in normal unretracted position, as shown in Fig.v 1, the roller 59 is adapted to engage the underside of the strike I8 to keep the door locked. When the door is locked as shown in Fig. l, the tongue 5| is spaced outside the outer end |1a of the keeper. When the latch 50 is retracted by swinging the latch in a counterclockwise direction, from the position shown in Fig. l to the position shown in Fig. 2, the roller 59 will become disengaged from the strike I8 and the tongue 5| will move against the shoulder I1a which limits its movement, and in such position the door Ican be opened.

Handle means is provided to swing said latch in a counterclockwise direction, looking at Fig. 1, for opening the lock. To this end there is pivoted to the pivot pin 32 a handle 58. Handle 59 has a pair of spaced side walls 8| formed with through openings E2 through which the pivot pin 32 passes. Said parallel walls 8| are received between the upper end of the latch 59 and the inner surfaces of portions 28 of the lock casing. Said side walls 8| are furthermore formed with aligned openings 64 adapted to register with the openings 45a, 46a when the handle is released and the door is locked. The loop or bolt of a padlock may be passed through the registering openings 45a, 46a and 64 to prevent the handle from being pivoted about the pivot 32. The forward end of the handle is hollow as shown in the drawing.

Extending from the hollow portion is a hand grip portion 65. At the forward end of the handle is a top wall 65 formed with an under edge 61 contacted by the tongue 5I of the latch 50. Thus, when the hand grip 65 is engaged and the handle pivoted iin a counterclockwise direction about pivot 32, shoulder 81 will engage tongue 5I and cause the latch 50 to be rotated likewise in a counterclockwise direction to release the roller 59 from the strike I8, so that the door can be opened.

Means is provided to resiliently press the latch 50 in a clock-wise direction towards the lockingv position. To this end, there is pivoted to the pivot pin 55 a bar 10 formed with a shoulder 1I and with a rearwardly extending reduced portion 12 passing through the opening 35 in the lug 34. On the bar portion 12 and between the shoulder 1I and the lug 34 is a coil compression spring 13 which normally tends to move the bar 18 to the left, looking at Fig. l, for rotating the latch 50 in a clockwise direction. For the purpose hereinafter appearing, the under edge of the forward portion of bar 10 is formed with a curved notch 15. Thus, if the handle grip 65 is grasped and the handle pivoted in a counterclockwise direction, the latch 50 will be likewise rotated in a counterclockwise direction and retracted, but when the handle is released, the spring 13 rotates the latch in a clockwise direction and the tongue 5I pressing against shoulder 61 of the handle likewise rotates the handle in a `clockwise direction about the pivot pin 32.

Means is provided to prevent rotation of the latch 5|] in a counterclockwise direction by pushing an instrument against the roller 59. To this end, there is pivoted to the pivot pin 55 a bell crank 8G having an upwardly extending arm 8| formed at its rear surface with a notch 82 adapted toregister with the openings 45a, 45a, and 64 of the handle. Said arm 8| may move through the slot 41 formed between the apertured ears 45 and 46 of the casing.

Extending rearwardly from the inner end of arm SI is a second arm 83 integrally formed with the arm 8| and having an inner edge 84 normally disposed below the notch 15. If a bolt of a padlock is put through the openings 45a, 48a and 64, said bolt will be engaged by the notch 82, and if pressure is exerted rearwardly against roller 59, the latch 50 will be prevented from rotating in a counterclockwise direction by reason of the fact that the bolt of the padlock is within the notch 82, so that arm 8| cannot be moved longitudinally thereof. Thus, the safety feature on the handle to swing said latch for retractlng the same upon rotating said handle, spring means for projecting said latch, said casing and handle being formed with registering openings to receive Va pin or bolt to prevent rotation of the handle relative to the casing, a member pivoted to the latch and having a hook engageable with a pin or bolt of a padlock inserted through said registering openings, a lever pivoted within said casing, and means effective upon rotating said lever for swinging said pivoted member to disengage the same from a pin or bolt of a padlock in said registering openings, means also effective upon rotating said lever for retracting said latch, and means for rotating said lever.

5. In combination, a lock casing, a handle pivoted to the casing, a latch pivoted to the casing about the same axis as the handle, said latch being formed with a tongue, said handle being formed with a shoulder engageable with said tongue whereby upon said rotation of said handle, the said latch Will be rotated in one direction, a strike engaging means on said latch adapted to be retracted upon swinging said handle, spring means for projecting said latch, said handle and casing being formed with registering openings adapted to receive a pin or a bolt or" a padlock, a bell crank pivoted to said latch, said bell crank having one arm formed with a notch adapted to receive a pin or the bolt oi a padlock inserted through said registering openings, a lever pivoted within said casing, said bell crank having a second arm engageable by the free end of said lever, whereby rotation of the lever' will rotate said bell crank in a direction for disengaging the first arm oi the bell crank from a pin or bolt of a padlock inserted through said openings, and means effective upon rotating said lever for retracting said latch against said spring means.

6. In combination, a lock casing, a handle pivoted to the casing, a latch pivoted to the casing about the same axis as the handle, said latch being formed with a tongue, said handle being formed with a shoulder engageable with said tongue whereby upon said rotation of said handle, the said latch will be rotated in one direction, a strike engaging means on said latch adapted to be retracted upon swinging said handle, spring means for projecting said latch, said handle and casing being formed with registering openings adapted to receive a pin or a bolt of a padlock, a bell crank pivoted to said latch, said bell crank having one arm formed with a notch adapted to receive a pin or the bolt of a padlock inserted through said registering openings, a lever pivoted within said casing, said bell crank having a second arm engageable by the free end of said lever, whereby rotation of the lever will rotate said bell crank in a direction for disengaging the iirst arm of the bell crank from a pin or bolt of a padlock inserted through said openings, means effective upon rotating said lever for retracting said latch against said spring means, and means to rotate said bell crank in an opposite direction.

7, In combination, a casing adapted to be attached to the outside of a door, said casing being formed with an opening, handle means movably mounted on the casing, said handle means having an opening registering with the opening in the casing whereby the bolt of a padlock or a pin may be inserted through said registering openings` to prevent movement of the handle means relative to the lock casing, latch means mounted on said casing for movement independently of the handle means, spring means to project said latch means, said handle means having means to retract said latch means upon moving said handle means relative to said lock casing, means actuable from the inside of the door for retracting said latch means while the handle means is locked tothe casing, and means on said latch means engageable with the bolt of a padlock or a pin inserted through said registering openings to prevent retracting said latch means.

8. In combination, a casingadapted to be attached to the outside of a door, said casing being formed with an opening, handle means movably mounted on the casing, said handle means having an opening registering with the opening in the casing whereby the bolt of a padlock or a pin may be inserted through said registering Yopenings to prevent movement of the handle means relative to the lock casing, latch means mounted on said casing for movement independently or" the handle means, spring means to project said latch means, said handle means having means to retract said latch means upon moving said handle means relative to said lock casing, means actuable from the inside of the door for retracting said latch means while the handle means is locked to the casing, means on said latch means engageable with the bolt of a padlock or a pin inserted through said registering openings to prevent retracting said latch means, and means operable by the means actuable from the inside of the door for releasing the preventing means from engagement with a bolt of a padlock or a pin inserted through said registering openings whereby to permit retraction of said latch means upon actuating said means actuable from the inside of the door.

9. In combination, a lock casing, a handle pivoted to the casing, a latch pivoted to the casing, means on the handle to retract the lock upon swinging the handle, a member pivoted to the latch and disposed within the casing, spring means for pushing said member in a direction for swinging said latch to projected position, said handle and casing being formed with registering openings, a member pivoted to the latch and having a hook adapted to engage the bolt of a padlock or a pin inserted through said openings, and a lever pivoted within said casing, and means on the lever operable upon rotating the lever in one direction for releasing the hook on the member pivoted to the latch from engagement with the bolt of a padlock or a pin inserted through said registering openings and upon further rotation of said lever in the same direction, to engage the spring pressed member and move the same in a direction for retracting the latch."

l0. In combination a lock casing adapted to be fixed to the outside of a door, a handle pivoted t0 said lock casing, a latch pivoted to said lock casing and movable independently of said handle and relative thereto, means ei'lective upon rotating the handle for retracting the latch, a lever pivoted within said casing, `means for retracting the latch independently of the handle, upon rotating said lever, means to lock the handle to the casing, releasa'ble means cooperable with said handle locking means to retain said latch against retraction, means cooperating with said lever to release said retaining means to permit retraction of said latch, and means operative from the inside of the door for rotating said lever to retract said latch.

I 11. 'Ihe combination of claim l0, in combination wlth spring means to project said latch.

12. The combination of claim 10, said means operative from the inside of the door, comprising a handle adapted to be pivoted to the inside of the door, a member adapted to extend through an opening in the door and interposed between said inside handle and said lever whereby upon rotating said inside handle, said lever will be rotated about its pivot for releasing said retaining means and retracting said latch.

13. In combination, a lock casing adapted to be attached to the outside of a door, handle means movably mounted on the casing, means to lock said handle means to said casing, latch means mounted on the casing for movement independently of the handle means, said handle means having means to retract said latch means upon moving said handle means relative to said lock casing, means actuable from the inside of the door for retraeting said latch means while the handle means is locked to the casing, means cooperable with said handle locking means to releasably retain the latch means against retraction, and means cooperable with the means for retracting the latch means from the inside of the door to release said retaining means to permit retraction of the latch means for the inside of the door.

14. The combination of claim 13 in combination with spring means to project said latch means.

ALFRED H. GROEGER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 269,099 Niles Dec. 12, 1882 517,353 Millard Mar. 27, 1894 770,542 Slaymaker Sept. 20, 1904 1,532,447 Schrader Apr. 7, 1925 1,593,372 Thompson July 20, 1926 2,097,854 Grill July 9, 1935 2,012,732 Schmidgall Aug. 27, 1935 2,055,197 Gasstrom Sept. 22, 1936 2,128,014 Platin Aug. 23, 1938 2,207,569 Wild July 9, 1940 2,287,710 Sayles June23, 1942 2,320,298 Phillips May 25, 1943 2,415,587 Groeger Feb. 11, 1947 2,510,019 Holland May 30, 1950 

